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Ten essential skills for under 10s

As children migrate indoors for playtime, outdoor enthusiast Bear Grylls creates a ‘bucket list’ for under 10s to encourage activity and imagination

Less than a quarter of children in the UK play outside every day, according to a new survey by Persil small & mighty. But over half of their parents remember outdoors play being a daily event in their own childhoods.

According to the survey of 1000 parents aged between 25 and 45, a tenth of under 10s never play outside. Today, more kids enjoy playing computer games or watching TV after school than in their mums’ day, when bike riding (which is a skill increasingly under threat!) and sports were the norm.

But help is at hand for the great outdoors, as its biggest fan, Bear Grylls, has created a list of 10 essential things kids need to do before their 10th birthday. These include how to do a perfect hill roll and a guide to make (and swing on) a rope swing.

Best of all, the under 10’s ‘bucket list’ ideas are all totally free, boost imagination and get children active. So how many can yours tick off?

1. Perfect the perfect hill roll (Bear's video)2. Become a hide-and-seek champion (Bear's video)3. Go sledging on sand4. Build a den5. Build a rope swing (Bear's video)6. Nurse that sting (we’re not sure about this one!)7. Try and count every star8. Make a mud pie (hang on, shouldn’t kids have done this by age 3?)9. Make a compass10. Pick your own pudding